Running Head: ECONOMIC AND SOCIAL CHANGES 1

“Economic and Social Changes in America 1700-1800s”

Name

University Affiliation
ECONOMIC AND SOCIAL CHANGES 2

Introduction

Between 1740 and 1860, the northern and southern colonies and states became

increasingly different from each other in terms of population, economy, and how these things

affected politics in each region. In the north, an industrial, skill-based economy, as well as a

more diverse population drove political and ideals towards favoring a strong national

government. Conversely, in the south, the production of plantation crops through the use of slave

labor, as well as stronger pro-slavery sentiments among local governments, pushed the south

towards favoring states with stronger roles in government. Due to these different principles

regarding government, and the social and economic factors that build these principles, the United

States became, as Abraham Lincoln stated, “a house divided.”

The industrial Revolution

As the 19th century progressed, the northern United States became increasingly urbanized.

In turn, the Industrial Revolution marked a new period in American history. The number of

factories in the North grew substantially, and the economy went from being a family and
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agricultural economy to relying heavily on factories and the market. This transition was much

more significant in the North than in the South, partly because of the availability of labor as

well as the concentration and make-up of the population.

Immigrants flocked to northern America due to more appealing conditions

During the 18th and 19th centuries, many immigrants flocked to northern America due to

more appealing conditions. For example, the New World offered a kind of religious diversity and

freedom that was not as widespread as in Europe, where religious conflicts tainted inter-religious

relations. As well as religious freedom, the New World also offered opportunities for immigrants

to progress socially. Although they weren’t able to be citizens initially upon immigrating, white

male immigrants could become citizens through naturalization. Becoming a citizen allowed these

immigrants to participate in politics, and have a larger influence in their communities (Digital,

2014).

Appeal to religious freedom and political progression drew many immigrants to America.

However, perhaps even more overwhelmingly, the opportunity for economic advancement
ECONOMIC AND SOCIAL CHANGES 4

attracted immigrants to the New World. A certain sentiment of economic progression through

hard work and determination existed in America. According to U.S. census data from 1820 to

1850, around 2.5 million immigrants came to America during this time period, and most found a

place in the north, where an industrial economy could accommodate them.

The north featured a much more ethnically and racially diverse population than the south

because of the large amounts of immigrants. Thus, political and social struggles that existed in

the north were not of much influence in the south. Hourwich presented one common opinion of

immigration during this time period – that immigrants were detrimental to society and had no

place in America. Opposition to immigration and the political and economic troubles that

accompanied it were mostly centered in the north, since that is where most of the immigrant

population came (Hourwich, 2012).

North and Southern colonies

In the south, the population did not include as many immigrants as that of the northern

states. Instead, the south featured a very rich concentration of African-Americans. According

to the 1850 U.S. census, around 37.3% of southern population was black, and the majority of

these were slaves. Immigrants who did come to the south were drawn to the farming
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communities and worked small independent farms. As such, the south was less racially-diverse,

although it did have higher numbers of minorities, specifically blacks. The dislike of slavery

ideologies was manifested in the abolition of slavery in some northern states for instance

Vermont, Rhodes Island, New Hampshire as well as Connecticut and Massachusetts.

Progressively the disregard of the slave trade in some of the state created a wave of a general

dislike of the entire thing of slavery (Digital History, 2012).

On the other hand, the majority of the Southerners, especially the politicians, progressed

in the support of the ideology particularly because it facilitated the growth of their economy a

good example being the Cotton Gin. According to Digital (2014), the Southerners perceived the

States that had abolished slavery as a threat claiming that the free states would act as safe havens

for the for the runaway slaves. As such, southern politicians formulated fugitive clause that stated

that any slave who escaped to a free state would be unconstrained (Digital, 2014).

In spite of the fugitive clause being made part of the American laws, more antislavery

ideologies flourished in the northern territory where citizens progressively believed in freedom

and respect for economic, social and political rights. Indeed, most northern politicians petitioned

the Congress to reverse the whole law and abolish slavery. Despite the law being enacted most of

the states in the north became reluctant in implementing it and became more resistant between

1780 and early 1790 (Foner, 2014).

Because of the large black population, and their predominant role in southern society as

slaves, southern politics developed attitudes towards citizenship that differed from that of the

north. In the north, where free blacks greatly outnumbered slaves as the mid-19th century grew

closer, abolitionist groups were much more vocal and frequent than they were in the south. Not

only was this because of the more racially- and ethnically-accepting attitudes in the north, but
ECONOMIC AND SOCIAL CHANGES 6

also because of the hostility towards abolitionist groups in the south. Believing that abolitionism

encouraged slave rebellion, southern states and their political and social leaders opposed all

forms of abolitionism (Digital History, 2012).

Of course, the reason for this was that the economy of the south – particularly the Deep

South – depended on slaves. Plantation farming of crops such as cotton or tobacco relied

heavily upon the labor of slaves. Thus, abolitionism and the extension of minimal rights to

blacks posed a serious threat to plantation owners and the economy that revolved around them.

Plantations were the backbone of the southern economy, and the primary homes of slaves.

Plantation owners accumulated large amounts of land, and working them was no easy task. In J.

William T. Young’s first volume of American Realities Historical Episodes, Young says of

William Byrd, a Virginian plantation owner with almost 180,000 acres of property, “he worked

much harder in Virginia than he had in England” (Youngs, 2011).

The plantations of the south with slaves

The plantations of the south were not easily sustained without slaves, and the growing

opposition to slave-owning that was growing in the north threatened the stability and success of

the south. As the early-1800s came to a close, the contention over slavery became one of the

centers of conflict between the north and the south. So much so, in fact, that the issue became

increasingly violent – leading to multiple confrontations, including a series of violent outbursts

ECONOMIC AND SOCIAL CHANGES 7

from 1854 to 1861 in Kansas and Missouri that came to be known as “Bleeding Kansas.”

Bleeding Kansas only fueled the fire between the North and the South, and highlights how

strongly this issue affected people (Digital, 2014).

Southern states, believing that the North would utilize a strong national government to

damage the economy of the South, pushed the issue of states’ rights. This issue, which came to

encompass the slavery issue, argued that states should have supreme power over themselves.

This would allow each state to regulate itself, and essentially protect the southern states from any

political attempts from the North to free slaves or otherwise negatively impact the hotly-

controversial plantation economy of the South (Digital, 2014).

Slavery ideologies in the North differed with the South

Ideas surrounding slavery that flourished in the North contrasted sharply with that of the

South, and led to many conflicts. Abolitionism, as well as the idea of “equality” and the

extension of minimal rights, grew in the North and threatened the South through the transferring

of ideas to enslaved blacks. In order to combat the North’s growing influence over slavery and
ECONOMIC AND SOCIAL CHANGES 8

how it should be handled, the southern states built themselves on the idea of states’ rights, and

the superseding of national laws in favor of states’ laws (Digital, 2014).

The North and the South also grew apart in terms of demography. As the North became

much more diverse through immigration, the South experienced a lesser degree of growth in

regards to diversity. This led to differences in political ideas, as white immigrant men who lived

in the urban North for the most part focused on issues that plantation owners did not give much

thought to, such as labor laws in factories or how labor unions could help represent and protect

workers. The North and the South became two very different places in the 19th century as

immigrants passed through the Golden Door into America (Digital, 2014). With great differences

in attitudes towards slavery, population composition, economic systems, and political ideals, the

U.S. became divided. Tensions grew, violent outbursts occurred, a general feeling of unrest

became apparent, and in 1861, following the secession of several southern states, the Civil War

roared its ugly head (Digital, 2014).

Conclusion

The Fugitive Slave Clause, as well as the Fugitive Slave Act of 1973 and 1850, led to

heightened polarization of United States which we currently live in. Most of North American

States voted against slavery while the most of their counterparts in the South supported it all

together. It is evident that when the southern politicians lacked the political good will to abolish

and repeal the said laws, the majority the Northern people highly supported the whole idea.
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References

Digital History (2012). The Fugitive Slave Act of 1850. Digital History . retrievd on 14th Oct.

2015 from<http://www.digitalhistory.uh.edu/disp_textbook_print.cfm?smtid=3&psid=1093>

Digital (2014). The Impending Crisis. The Fugitive Slave Law. Digital History ID 3276.

Retrieved on 10th Oct. 2015 from http://www.digitalhistory.uh.edu/disp_textbook_print.cfm?

smtid=2&psid=3276

Foner, E. (2014). Voices of freedom: A documentary history. New York; London: W.W. Norton

& Company

Hourwich , I. A. (2012). Immigration and Labor. The Economic Aspect of European Immigration

to the United States. American Journal of Sociology 19, no. 1.

https://doi.org/10.1086/212209

Youngs, J. W. (2011). American Realities: Historical Episodes from Reconstruction to the

Present, Volume 2, 8th Edition.